My current cpu fan is too loud. In my old setup I used a zalman fan & it was really cool & quiet. I was thinking of purchasing another one for my current cpu. However, when I went to newegg, there are 4 zalman fans that are rated very well & i'm not sure which one is the best. Can one of u guys help me out?

There are better coolers than Zalman at similar price, next time try to post you system, for example case and mobo would be useful atm to know if you have 4pin pwm header for the fan and how much clearance the case has for tower cooler.

For sub $50 i like a lot Scythe Mugen 3 (158mm height), comes with a very good PWM fan that can be drop down to 300rpm where its totally inaudible, but can ramp up to 1600rpm if you need the extra cooling (not silent at that speed), but 4pin pwm fans are controlled by bios/software so really depends if you mobo has 4pin pwm fan connector (check your cpu fan connector header if its 3pin or 4pin). Now if its 3pin, i would probably just go with something like COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 or XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 and swap the fan with Slipstream 800rpm SY1225SL12L. Or if you want the top of the line cooler for single rad, Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler and add the same slipstream fan. Check the following reviews for more info,

In case you cant fit 160mm height tower coolers (depends on the case), then look into Noctua NH-U9B SE2 92mm SSO CPU Cooler (you need 125mm height clearance), check your mobo to see if you can mount it, memory and other components. It should come with 3 in line resistors that should allow you to chose the rpms of the fans.

Edit: If lodestar is right into you having the Asus P5Q, from what i see in newegg mobo picture, it has a 4pin CPU fan header,

so i would go with the Scythe Mugen 3 as long as you case can fit 158mm height coolers.

I agree with Abula. There are much better coolers than the Zalmans at similar prices. In general it's not wise to lock on to one manufacturer when it comes to hardware, instead try to look at the current models available at the time of purchase.

My Dad's computer has a Hyper TX3 on a Q9400, over-clocked to 3GHz too. It's pretty cool chip so this cooler is ample and the stock fan isn't too bad when spun right down on PWM, to about 700~800rpm.$18 from newegg, Regards, Seb

There are better coolers than Zalman at similar price, next time try to post you system, for example case and mobo would be useful atm to know if you have 4pin pwm header for the fan and how much clearance the case has for tower cooler.

For sub $50 i like a lot Scythe Mugen 3 (158mm height), comes with a very good PWM fan that can be drop down to 300rpm where its totally inaudible, but can ramp up to 1600rpm if you need the extra cooling (not silent at that speed), but 4pin pwm fans are controlled by bios/software so really depends if you mobo has 4pin pwm fan connector (check your cpu fan connector header if its 3pin or 4pin). Now if its 3pin, i would probably just go with something like COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 or XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 and swap the fan with Slipstream 800rpm SY1225SL12L. Or if you want the top of the line cooler for single rad, Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler and add the same slipstream fan. Check the following reviews for more info,

In case you cant fit 160mm height tower coolers (depends on the case), then look into Noctua NH-U9B SE2 92mm SSO CPU Cooler (you need 125mm height clearance), check your mobo to see if you can mount it, memory and other components. It should come with 3 in line resistors that should allow you to chose the rpms of the fans.

Edit: If lodestar is right into you having the Asus P5Q, from what i see in newegg mobo picture, it has a 4pin CPU fan header,

so i would go with the Scythe Mugen 3 as long as you case can fit 158mm height coolers.

Hey Abula, I do have an Asus P5Q mobo. Also, I can just about fit a 160mm cooler in my p160 case. But for my mobo, which do u think is better, the Prolima Megahalems or the Scythe Mugen 3? The Scythe Mugen 3 seems more difficult to install than the Prolima Megahalems.

Yes the Mugen 3 is among the hardest mounting system I have used for cpu coolers, but not a big deal at the end, I just rested the cpu cooler on mobo boxes on one side and since it was mini itx I just approched the mobo sideways to screw it from bottom/side, once you figure it out its not so hard, but for sure much esaier to install noctuas and thermalright coolers, I have not installed prolimatech coolers ever, but by spcr review it should be easy. Its up to you if that's woth the extra $15 + fan, but you will also get a slightly better performer.

Yes the Mugen 3 is among the hardest mounting system I have used for cpu coolers, but not a big deal at the end, I just rested the cpu cooler on mobo boxes on one side and since it was mini itx I just approched the mobo sideways to screw it from bottom/side, once you figure it out its not so hard, but for sure much esaier to install noctuas and thermalright coolers, I have not installed prolimatech coolers ever, but by spcr review it should be easy. Its up to you if that's woth the extra $15 + fan, but you will also get a slightly better performer.

If I decide to go with the prolimatech cooler, I should probably get the Scythe SY1225SL12LM-P 120mm Fan since it has PWM right?

Yes the Mugen 3 is among the hardest mounting system I have used for cpu coolers, but not a big deal at the end, I just rested the cpu cooler on mobo boxes on one side and since it was mini itx I just approched the mobo sideways to screw it from bottom/side, once you figure it out its not so hard, but for sure much esaier to install noctuas and thermalright coolers, I have not installed prolimatech coolers ever, but by spcr review it should be easy. Its up to you if that's woth the extra $15 + fan, but you will also get a slightly better performer.

If I decide to go with the prolimatech cooler, I should probably get the Scythe SY1225SL12LM-P 120mm Fan since it has PWM right?

I think scythe slipstream PWM you have in hand is a great choice if you are looking for a quiet setup, it can be drop to 200rpm and can me stress to 1300rpm so i has a good range. If the P5Q is like my Gene Z, it will have a minimum of 20% speed on the fan, meaning 1300*20% = 260rpm, thats probably the lowest the mobo might allow, but you can set it up depending on how your mobo works with PWM fans and if it can control it via bios/software, you should be able to set it, it will depend on the how the mobo handles PWM fan though.

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